In a letter addressed to Naidu, and handed over to him on Wednesday by Kadiyam Srihari, Deputy Chief Minister, and Azmeera Chandulal, Minister for Tribal Welfare, the Chief Minister requested supply of eucalyptus wood at subsidised price to the Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT) unit at Kamalapur in Warangal district.

Rao wanted Andhra Pradesh to secure 4 lakh tonnes of eucalyptus wood per annum at a subsidised price and an assured basis for a period of five years as this would go a long way in restarting and continuing the industry as this would help restore livelihoods of those adversely affected due to closure of the paper unit.

The Telangana government has extended concessions to the paper unit to help its revival. The BILT unit, which was formerly known as AP Rayons, was established more than four decades ago.

The factory is engaged in manufacture of viscose grade rayon with wood as raw material. The unit was sourcing wood during the initial period from the forest department and thereafter the eucalyptus and bamboo being grown by the farmers.

It used to purchase wood from the undivided AP Forest Development Corporation by participating in auction to buy 5 lakh tonnes of wood. However, in the recent past, it had been facing difficulty in securing raw material required to run the unit and was forced to close.

The unit has been closed for more than six months and more than 1,000 people having direct employment and about 5,000 indirectly dependant on the unit for livelihood have been adversely impacted.

In order to revive the unit and support the people dependant on the paper unit, the Telangana government has extended the necessary support but is faced with raw material shortage. With substantial quantity of wood available in Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana government has now requested it to support its revival plan.